Faded Constellations
by acidmudblood
Summary: "So, Mr Malfoy, where are we headed to again? You know I wouldn't risk breaking the rules and exiting the castle after lights off if it wasn't worth it," she said. "Relax. If we run into Filch or Hagrid or someone, we'll just tell them that we're on Patrol Duty or something. Y'know, prefect stuff," he grinned. (Extremely Fluffy-ish One Shot)


"Well, shit!" Scorpius exclaimed all of a sudden, as he tripped over the uneven pathway that lead away from the Hogwarts Castle.

"Holy shit, _ouch!"_ he cried again, wincing in pain. Thankfully, he had managed to prevent any further injuries by landing with his hands abruptly slamming onto the ground.

Rose had gasped in panic, before breaking out into laughter.

"Pretend you never saw that. Please," he blushed.

"How the _heck _did that happen in the first place?"

"I have no idea. I trip over almost everything, apparently."

"I can't believe how clumsy you are!" she laughed, kneeling on the ground beside him.

"Well sorry, geez. Help me get up, at least, will ya?" he said, half laughing, although he was still in pain.

Rose shook her head in amusement and stood up to help him back on his feet.

"Oh god… thanks," he said, dusting his knees, before glancing up at her, smiling.

She rolled her eyes.

"So, Mr Malfoy, where are we headed to again? You know I wouldn't risk breaking the rules and exiting the castle after lights off if it wasn't worth it."

"Relax. If we run into Filch or Hagrid or someone we'll just tell them that we're on Patrol Duty or something. Y'know, prefect stuff," he made an attempt to straighten his Ravenclaw necktie and Prefect badge pinned on his chest, offering her a grin.

"You're so pathetic, I can't believe this."

"Alright, Rose. Fine. Go back to the castle then, no one's forcing you."

She glared at him.

"What? Not my fault. You told me you wanted to come along."

"Look, if it weren't for the stupid bet we made I wouldn't even be here in the first place-,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa- _I told you_- you didn't have to agree with me if you didn't want to! This is _your_ choice."

"OK- I know it is but-,"

"_But_?" Scorpius couldn't control the mischevious smirk that crept up on his face.

"But- nothing. OK? Happy now? You win. Whatever, alright?"

"Hey! Don't manipulate this to make it look like _I'm_ the bad guy!"

"I never said you were. I just-"

"Shhhh. Okay, I get you. Admit it, you wanted to come along in the first place, didn't you?"

"I never-" she said defensively, though her voice chimed with the tone of someone who was obviously failing at an attempt to tell the truth.

"Mhmm. Lies. I've known you well enough for five whole years to be able to tell when you're being honest or giving some cock and bull."

"OK," Rose said, curtly, clearly admitting defeat, although she was trying not to grin.

"I can also tell whenever you're trying not to laugh or smile at something, even under insufficient lighting, in case you didn't know that," he added.

"Shut up, Scorpius."

"OK."

The sound of insects and the wind humming in the background filled the atmosphere as they walked along in a sudden, eerie silence.

Merely moments later, the silence was broken when Rose finally let out quiet giggles under her breath, realizing that she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"What's so funny?" Scorpius asked, amused.

"Nothing," she said, quietly, eyes fixed on the ground their feet treaded on.

"Nothing," she said again, walking to move in closer beside him and coiling her fingers around his hands.

As he allowed the moment to sink in with full appreciation, Scorpius's heart felt like it was about to melt off. Having had a huge ass crush on your best friend for nearly three years wasn't really the easiest way to live your life, but Scorpius decided that there were people who had it a whole lot worse.

The hugs they shared and times where he was lucky enough for her to hold his hand was already rare enough, and more often than not, what Rose meant as "only just friends." He'd seen her when she made attempts at flirting with other boys, and he'd known. It had never been anything like what they have ever had.

Their friendship was a delicate thing- full of casual insults and intellectual arguments over petty things, contests and bets on which of them were going to score a higher mark on the upcoming test, and things like accidentally puking on another's lap after consuming an unflattering piece of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans.

And more often than not, Scorpius had treaded along the lines of delicacy, dropping subtle hints of his feelings towards her, accidentally saying things that might have given away too much, fearing that he had gone too far.

If she had noticed- to which, Scorpius decided that she was intelligent enough to not to- she did not falter. She pretended as if everything were the same, as if his obvious feelings for her were nonexistent, and she, by all means, did not react with a single word or action that offered him some sort of hope.

This though, he thought, was different. _This was definitely different_- his intuition was sure of it.

"So, come on, where are we headed to?" she asked again.

"Nowhere," he glanced at her, grinning.

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

At that, Scorpius took out his wand and muttered, "lumos", as the path ahead of them grew darker under the night sky.

"You know, if I _die_-" she began, but he cut her off.

"Not gonna happen."

"This is really starting to creep me out, Scorpius. Hogwarts can get really scary at night."

"Well, what do you want me to do then?"

There was a pause.

"Just… uh… put your arm around me or something," she said awkwardly, sounding like she was trying not to laugh.

"Oh! Oh! Okay!" Scorpius exclaimed excitedly, glancing at her with a smirtk on his face.

"Ohh, Rose Weasley, I see where this is going," he teased.

"Shut up, Scorpius. Dream about it, alright?"

"Whatever you say," he sighed, still grinning, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Do you feel _safer_ now?"

"Maybe."

"Pathetic."

"Shut up."

"What if I don't?"

"I'll make you?"

"How?"

She paused, unsure of what to say.

"I'll use a Silencing Charm," she finally said.

"You know you won't."

"I'll do something else then."

"Like what?'

"Like…" she paused again.

_Like kissing you, maybe, _she thought, but remained silent.

And for a moment they stood there in such a close proximity, under complete, utter silence. The night hummed on around them, and Scorpius could hear her barely audible, soft, shallow breaths.

The tension hung thick in the air as their gazes held each other temporarily, and her eyes momentarily lingered on his lips. She had a sort of distant, hopeful expression in her face, and for a brief, hopeful split second, Scorpius was almost sure that she was going to lean in to kiss him.

His eyes trembled with a sort of innocent anticipation, although he was forcing all his will not to show it, and he momentarily began to forget what it felt like to have limbs attached to your body.

"Like- uh, nothing. Come on, let's get going," Rose said awkwardly, snapping him back into reality, as that moment of intense tension had dissolved into nothingness.

"Right," he said, regaining himself.

They continued to walk, and Rose had slipped her hand into his again. He didn't know if he was disappointed, he couldn't really think of what to expect anymore. His other hand continued to clutch his illuminated wand.

"There yet?" she asked.

"Almost," his eyes were fixed on the ground.

And shortly after that, the path they treaded had began to brighten up, as they soon found themselves standing by the Great Lake, which glowed beautifully under the moonlight. On the surface of the black water laid the reflection of a thousand stars. Scorpius muttered the word "_nox_" underneath his breath, extinguishing the glowing light at the tip of his wand.

Rose's face lit up with unfathomable happiness, and maybe even slight shock, as she looked up to glance at the somewhat faded constellations. She looked at him as though she was about to burst into tears.

"So… um…. Yeah," he said, in a quiet voice. He was smiling shyly, and shifted his feet anxiously on the ground.

And then, all of a sudden, his eyes widened with shock as he was taken aback by the fact that had pushed him by the shoulders and sent him landing on the ground- again, the second time he had fallen down in the same night.

"_Ouch_! What the hell was that for?!" he managed.

Rose stood there, laughing.

"Rose!" he cried, trying to sound exasperated, although he couldn't help himself from laughing along, shortly after.

"You. You. You idiot!" she exclaimed, kneeling down beside him.

"Not sure if that's supposed to be a good thing, or a bad thing?" he asked, brushing his arms as he sat up.

"I hate you," she said, though she was grinning so widely- Scorpius was most probably certain that his plan had worked.

"You know you don't, Rose Weasley," he smirked.

He had already managed to sit up, before she pinned him down again, pressing her palms against his shoulders.

"Woah, woah, woah, lady- let me go."

"I can't _believe_ you'd do this," she cried.

"You're welcome."

She was now hovering over him, hands still pressed against his shoulder, preventing him from getting back up. Their faces were merely inches away from each other. Through the gleam that shone in her eyes,_ this time_, Scorpius was certain of what would happen.

He decided that he didn't want to wait for her to make a move. Better do it now before it's too late, he thought.

So he leaned forward and kissed her.

And she kissed him back.

The kiss that he had been longing for after so many years of waiting. After so many years of a tiring friendship that could lead to the possibility of it being shattered within seconds. He knew he was taking the biggest risk of his life, but he didn't care. He decided that it was either now, or never.

When they finally pulled away, both their faces were flushed with a sort of embarrassment, and Scorpius's heart pounded with anxiety, wondering if she had regretted it.

She glanced at him with a soft, innocent smile.

There was silence, and the sound of the night hummed around them again.

Their breaths were barely audible, slow, soft, shallow, but still there.

"You know…" she finally said, breaking the silence.

"You should've done that a long time ago."

"Get lost," Scorpius laughed. At least, he was now washed over with relief.

She rolled over and got up, managing to sit with her knees folded to her chest, and he followed suit.

"This lake's really pretty at night," she said, quietly.

"Actually, I wanted to show you… um… the stars," he replied.

She glanced at him, laughing.

Noticing the look on her face, he laughed as well.

"OK- sorry. Sorry. That was.. um.. corny… and… cheesy."

"Glad you realized that."

"Although, I've never seen this many stars in my entire life."

"I know. Thought you'd like it."

"You're pathetic."

"You're welcome," he said, reaching over to hold her hand.

She didn't pull away.

"I recognize so many constellations," she said.

"Me too."

"They're sort of unclear and distant though."

"Faded. Faded constellations," he muttered.

"For god's sake, Scorpius, you're a failure at trying to sound sentimental," she laughed.

He buried his face in his hands, laughing, before allowing himself to fall backwards and lie flat on the ground.

"Am I supposed to join you in this 'romantic attempt' or something?" she asked, in amusement.

"I don't know, whatever," he laughed.

Rose followed suit, and together, they lay there beneath the dimly lit sky that spread out like a sea of stars. Beside them was the Great Lake and its dark water, still, and illuminated by the moonlight.

"You're so cheesy," she said, in a voice so soft that is was merely a whisper.

"I know."

She reached for his hand and laced her fingers between his.

"Do you want to count the constellations?" she asked.

Scorpius let out a laugh.

"Whose the cheesy one now, huh?"

"Shut up."

"OK."

"So?" she asked again.

"So… Orion. Right there, far left," he responded.

Rose couldn't remember the last time she smiled so much.

"Andromeda," she continued.

"Centaurus."

"Hercules."

"Aquila."

There was a pause.

"Scorpius," she finally said in a quiet voice, laughing, and pointing towards a distant group of stars on their far right.

"For god's sake," he sighed, although he couldn't help himself from letting out a small laugh under his breath.


End file.
